With his goal in Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Galatasaray in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, Mohamed Salah reached 50 goals in the competition, making history as an African footballer.
The great footballers answer their critics with moments of brilliance.
Mohamed Salah has not had his finest season, and only last week, we looked at why his goal numbers have dipped so dramatically from their previously very high levels.
When the Egyptian’s tame first-half penalty was saved by Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Çakir on Wednesday in Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg, it felt like more of the same. However, we all should have known better.
After providing an inch-perfect assist for Hugo Ekitiké to make it 2-0 and put Liverpool ahead in the tie early in the second half at Anfield, and seeing a shot saved by Çakir that led to Ryan Gravenberch adding a third for the hosts on the rebound, it was Salah’s turn to make the net ripple just after the hour mark.
After linking up with Florian Wirtz on the right side of the penalty area, Salah cut inside and bent a sublime shot into the far left corner of the net, with Çakir only able to get the merest of fingertips to it. Liverpool ultimately eased to a 4-0 win on the night, and a 4-1 aggregate victory to take them into the quarter-finals.
It was a relief to see Salah put the penalty miss behind him and score what was just his 10th goal of the season. More significantly, it was the 50th Champions League goal of his career. That made him the first African player to reach a half-century of goals in the competition.
Salah is also just one of 11 players to score at least 50 Champions League goals. It took him 97 games to get there, the same as legendary Real Madrid striker Raúl.
Only eight players have reached a half-century in the competition in fewer games, one of whom is Harry Kane (66), who also scored his 50th Champions League goal on Wednesday, just a few minutes before Salah did the same.
The 33-year-old is now joint-10th for Champions League goals since the competition began in 1992-93, level with Kane and Thierry Henry.
After scoring twice in the Champions League for Basel and once for Roma, his other 47 strikes have all been in a Liverpool shirt, which have helped him play in three Champions League finals with the Reds, winning it in 2019.
His 50 Champions League goals have come against 25 different opponents, with FC Porto the team he has punished most, scoring five goals in six games against them. Salah also managed four goals against Rangers across two games in the 2022-23 season, while he’s scored three times against Salzburg (2 games), Maribor (2 games) and Atlético Madrid (5 games).
Salah will have his work cut out in the quarter-finals as Liverpool face holders Paris Saint-Germain. The French giants are the team Salah has faced most in the Champions League without finding the net (4 games).
Was it just a case of him stepping up on the big occasion, though, or was Salah’s impressive showing on Wednesday a result of his manager finding a more suitable role for him?
We pointed out recently that Salah has not been seeing as much of the ball in the penalty area this season as he has previously, only averaging 7.5 touches in the opposition box, comfortably his lowest in a campaign for Liverpool.
However, Arne Slot played him in a front two with Ekitiké on Wednesday night, allowing Salah to receive the ball in more central areas.
He had 13 touches in the opposition box against Galatasaray, his second most in a game this season.
Funnily enough, both his assist and his goal came from outside the penalty area, but his total of seven shots and six on target were the most Salah has recorded in a game for Liverpool this season.
Not including his missed penalty, he also racked up 1.45 expected goals (xG), his highest non-penalty xG in a single game this season, with his next highest being 0.92 against Atlético in the league phase of the Champions League.
It was all especially impressive when you consider Salah was substituted in the 74th minute, seemingly having felt a slight injury that could rule him out of Liverpool’s trip to Brighton on Saturday.
His assist and goal were his 200th and 201st goal involvements for Liverpool at Anfield in all competitions (140 goals, 61 assists), in 211 home appearances.
Getting Salah closer to goal seems to have done the trick, though it should be pointed out that Galatasaray weren’t able to show much resistance to Liverpool’s stunning performance, and PSG should be a much tougher prospect.
If the Egyptian King can get anywhere near his usual levels, though, a mostly disappointing season for Liverpool could still have a happy ending.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
